Customer Reviews

Ceux De Dehors

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is the third and best Univers Zero album, and on this one they adopt a grander, more symphonic sound, without losing their high originality.

The music is quite dark (though less so than on the previous album "Heresie"), and its quite dissonant and very strange and gothic. One of the tracks on this album is inspired by a H.P. Lovecraft story, and its Lovecraft's mixture of the gothic and the strange that one comes to think of, when hearing this album. Also there is a Belgian folkmusic tone here, as well as echoes of medieval music. The music also has a strong melancholy beauty amidst the gothic strangeness.

The emphasis in the sound is on the interplay between woodwind (oboe, english horn, bassoon), violi/viola, harmonium,piano, organ, mellotron, electric bass and drums. Especially the sound of harmonium is so atypical of this Belgian group.

The musicians are very tight, and their playing is very impressive. Especially woodwindplayer Michel Berckmans shines brightly here. Most of the compositions are very strong, the last two or three aren't, but it doesn't matter that much as the rest of the music is so brilliant.

One can definitely hear echoes of Magma (most notably in Guy Segers'bassplaying) but also in the intensity of the music. One could also say that should Béla Bartók have composed for a progressive band it would probably have sounded like this.

This album is definitely the highwater-mark of the "Rock In Oppostion" progressive music movement intitiated by Henry Cow's Chris Cutler. For those who thinks that Prog was dead as a music force during the Eighties this album proves them wrong.

This album has my highest recommendation, it's a masterpiece indeed!

The third CD from a legendary band, Ceux du Dehors proves that Univers Zero were far from drought of ideas. It would be unlikely to say that this effort alternate styles, transposes from different moods, because it is centered in just one very gloomy act, it flerts through darkness and only. The album opens up with "Dense", a 12 minute piece that gets heavy on horns and bassoons, soon after moving to a more direct symphonic song called "Bonjour Chez Vouz". "Combat" might be the highlight here, beginning with a kind of marching (as the own title suggests) and then turning to a quiet moment in the second part. Ceux du Dehors also includes a funeral march in "La Tete du Corbeau", propably the darkest song of the entire album, foregoing the closer (and my favourite) "Triomphe des Mouches", a five minute piece that reminds NIN's introspection, using haunting drums and great piano and organ.

I have to warn you that this isn't an easy album, even if you're used to other experimental bands like Radiohead. This album may take while to grow on you, but soon you'll see how good it is.

This is so good, and it's my first exposure to this great ensemble. The only criticism I have at all is that the album ends in too abrupt and arbitrary a fashion. Maybe there's a reason, but it's not apparent after the first few listenings. It's sharp, progressive music that has a consistent mood throughout. Highly recommended.

This music is definitely not for those people that listen to mainstream music or even, really, for people that like Neo-prog. This music challenges you and demands repeated listening to get the most out of it. I found it to be one of those CD's that it was the on the 5th or 6th listen that the lightbulb went off and I started to "get it".

As a prog rock fan, as many as already know, if you're not into neo-prog, don't think Marillion was the savior of prog in the 1980s, you know many great prog albums released after 1977 or '78 were rather slim pickings (with a brief resurgence in the early '90s thanks to groups like Änglagård). Of course there were some gems during those lean years, but nothing like the 1969 to 1977 time period.

Univers Zero were one of the leading RIO groups. RIO (Rock In Opposition) was originally the name of a festival founded by Christ Cutler who obviously wanted an outlet for groups to express themselves in opposition to the punk and disco that dominated the landscape at the time. It eventually became a genre itself (that included Henry Cow, naturally, plus Univers Zero, Samla Mammas Mamma, Art Bears, and so many more, either from groups that performed at those festivals, or those that played in this style). So obviously a lot of this music was even more complex and challenging than anything that came before. If you thought Gentle Giant was complex, get a load of Henry Cow (and Univers Zero)! Of course Univers Zero is definitely up your alley if you enjoy Henry Cow or the more "out there" moments of King Crimson. Unlike Henry Cow, there's none of that jazz influence, and unlike Crimson, not as so rock. It's pretty safe to say, the guys from Univers Zero were simply listening to the same kinds of classical music (Bartok, Stravinsky, etc) as Crimson or Cow.

Univers Zero had been through many lineup changes, in 1980-81, the group consisted of Michel Berckmans (bassoon, oboe, English horn), Daniel Denis (drums), Patrick Hanappler (violin, viola), Andy Kirk (keyboards, including harmonium, Mellotron, Yamaha CP-70 electric grand piano), and Guy Segers (bass).

Now I can't believe it, Ceux du Dehors was released in 1981 and that this album really does deserve the RIO tag. If by 1981, the big name prog acts had either broken up, or in the case of Genesis, turning to mainstream pop, Univers Zero created some unbelievably complex and challenging music, using an assortment of woodwinds, plus drums and even the Mellotron pops up on three cuts, which is something I don't expect from a recording this late! Truly in opposition to mainstream tastes. Like Henry Cow, you won't be able to "get it" on the first or even the tenth listen (unlike symphonic prog albums where you often get it on the third listen). Univers Zero has its share of detractors because there are people that will never "get it" (I can understand), and then there are those that need to be "in the mood". A lot of the music has this sinister feel to it. To put that point across, one of the cuts is titled "La Musique D'Erich Zann", Erich Zann a fictional character in H.P. Lovecraft's short story by the same name (that is "The Music of Erich Zann"), so you get a picture where this band was at. Put this album up against mainstream tastes or even how badly the major prog acts deteriorated by this point and you can see! This was music guaranteed never to be aired on MTV or played on your local FM station who overplays "Free Bird" to death. The old LP featured just six cuts, but in 1992 when Cuneiform reissued this on CD, they included a bonus cut, "Triomphe des Mouches" which is in the same vein as the rest of the album, which means it was cut from the same sessions. It was originally released as a one-sided single and included in the first 500 copies of Ceux Du Dehors, so if you're lucky to own the original LP that came with the single, you got a major collector's item!

I really think this is a great album, but I won't recommend this for those who want their music to be safe, that's for sure!

This would be rated 5 stars if I thought that the music would be accessible to all listeners. However when dealing with Universe Zero, one must appreciate the dissonance that atonal music offers. Universe Zero is a unique and often-times confrontational experiment fronted by percussionist Daniel Denis. My first exposure to their music was in 1981 when I heard and bought "Heresie" at an underground music store near my college. I probably don't need to say this beause of their cross-germination, but fans of Art Zoyd should be drawn to the "0". I like their stuff.

In other words, there are not a lot of hooks to bore you. What there is is an astonishing tightness and flavor (slightly on the darker side) in the sounds. Very consistent track to track. Their name sounded to me like a metal band trying to attract the Americans, but I'm so glad I checked them out because of some reviews here. This is rock-in-opposition I'm not at all opposed to. It is NOT trying to be oh-so-complicated and unlistenable. They are a better listen even than most Henry Cow! These guys are just very, very progressive -- and that can still be a fresh, good thing. What a treat this Halloween! Where have I been all their lives...!?

3 1/2


Though the heavily cited RIO chamber-rock godfathers didn't turn out to be quite as essential as i'd hoped, their third album had reached an early peak of challengingly unique compositions that, when not steeped in exercise, ambient, or atonal mode, is capable of providing breathtaking orchestration.